The legendary rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens has been considered the definition of hard-nosed football at its peak. However, some are questioning whether the hatred has waned over the years. With the Steelers (7-2) leading the AFC North and the Ravens (7-3) a hair behind, Sunday’s divisional battle could renew the fire between these two franchises.
Steelers and Ravens Heating Up
While the rosters for the Week 11 clash won’t include names like Ben Roethlisberger, Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu, Jonathan Ogden, James Harrison, or Hines Ward, there will be no lack of household names on the field. Lamar Jackson (538 yards, two touchdowns) and Derrick Henry (1,120 yards, 12 touchdowns) are the most dangerous rushing tandem in the league. Najee Harris is having a career season (645 yards, three touchdowns). TJ Watt is a generational player who can upend games in the blink of an eye, but Cameron Heyward is also defying the aging process with five sacks and a dominant presence in the trenches.
Safety rules and the evolution of the league mean that even at its chippiest, Sunday’s matchup won’t reach the bone-jarring heights that fans were treated to at least twice a year. That doesn’t mean either side will play with less passion or intensity when kickoff arrives. Everything has set this game up to be as close to those AFC North classics as the league has seen in some time. The question is which team will make another notch in what has been a rivalry for the ages and hopefully continues to be.
Running Game: Strength Against Strength
The strength of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense in 2024, whether under Justin Fields or Russell Wilson, has been the rushing attack. Najee Harris is playing with a different, powerful energy that has him off to the best start in his NFL career, and that is with Jaylen Warren nursing injuries throughout the year. With 645 yards and three scores on the ground, Harris is finally getting the blocking he has always needed to have this kind of production. However, the Ravens match up perfectly with Harris and the rushing offense, with Baltimore boasting one of the league’s stingiest run defenses.
Pittsburgh averages 138.3 rushing yards a game, and the Ravens only allow 73 yards on the ground per game. With that kind of gap, something has to give, and whichever dam breaks first will be the team that will have to play from behind. Harris has a season-long run of 36 yards that was a sneaky touchdown on a toss play, but Baltimore hasn’t given up anything more than a 21-yard run all season. Smith will be hesitant to put the entirety of the offense onto Wilson’s shoulders, so expect Pittsburgh to stick with the running game and give Harris a chance to wear down the NFL’s best run-stopping group.
Passing Mismatch For the Steelers
While the running game is a matter of strength going up against strength, that isn’t the case regarding how the teams match up through the air. Fields made plays and won games with his legs more than his arm, but Wilson has built a Super Bowl-winning career by passing the ball. With the league’s lowest-paid offensive unit, the expectations must be realistic. To go with a top-five rushing attack, Pittsburgh has the 26th-ranked passing offense in the NFL. That may sound low, but the Steelers are light years from where Matt Canada and Kenny Pickett had the offense, and it’s been enough to earn an impressive 7-2 record.
The Steelers may not have a particularly intimidating air assault, aside from George Pickens, but compared to the Ravens’ pass defense it might not matter. Baltimore is the worst-ranked team in the NFL at stopping the pass, allowing 294.9 yards and 22 touchdowns to opponents. The Pittsburgh Steelers average 188 passing yards a game, but with an elite Baltimore run defense, it could fall on Wilson to see how much of Pickens and Mike Williams the Ravens’ defensive backs can handle. For the first time in a long while, this could be a high-scoring game, but still close as the rivalry tends to be.
Bringing the Legendary Feel Back
It might not be Roethlisberger against Lewis and Reed, but the matchup with Watt and Jackson is must-see TV. Heading into Week 11, Henry was the league’s leading rusher (1,120 yards and 12 touchdowns), but Saquon Barkley surpassed that on Thursday Night. This isn’t the Henry that the Tennessee Titans thought the franchise was letting go, and the former 2,000-yard rusher is out to prove something in 2024. Patrick Queen, Peyton Wilson, and Elandon Roberts will be on duty all day to ensure the man known as King Henry is contained as much as he can be with his current momentum.
Watt is a former Defensive Player of the Year, and many believe he should have several. Jackson doesn’t have that issue, boasting two league MVPs and making the matchup a five-star battle from start to finish. Teams have been selling out to ensure Watt doesn’t wreck or impact the game. If the Steelers want to improve to 8-2, Teryl Austin must find a way to work around that. Games in this rivalry tend to come down to the wire but also have a severe shortage of points being scored. Unless the Steelers shut down two elite NFL offensive stars, this iteration of Ravens Week could rack up the points on both sides.
Final Thoughts and Prediction
Nick Herbig is back from an injury, making Alex Highsmith’s ankle issue less dire, even if he misses several weeks. Jaylen Warren will make a go of it despite showing up on the injury report (back) late in the week, meaning Cordarrelle Patterson could be relied on more against Baltimore. Williams had an explosive Pittsburgh debut by catching the game-winning touchdown against the Washington Commanders, but now fans are watching to see if he can be consistent. It will once again be a one-score affair, but Sunday will include more offensive fireworks than this legendary rivalry tends to produce.
Prediction: Steelers 27 – Ravens 20
